How John Carpenter Turned “The Thing” into a Horror Classic

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John Carpenter’s The Thing is a classic in the horror genre.  Most fans consider it Carpenter’s high-water mark.

What many don’t know is that The Thing  that was released to theaters was very different from what was originally planned and filmed.  When Carpenter saw a rough cut he realized that the movie didn’t work.  It lacked tension (can you believe that?), the pace was slow and MacCready (played by Kurt Russell) was just another face in the crowd.

Luckily a six-week break had been built into the shooting schedule.  During that time Carpenter…

…restructured the film, wrote what was essentially a new Second Act to conform to the editing he had done (including new death scenes for two characters), adopted MacCready as his spiritual doppelganger, and scrambled to get all of it shot on location in Stewart, B.C. Coming face to face with his own greatest fear – fear of failure –  he was able to make THE THING undeniably his…

Stuart Cohen was a co-producer on The Thing.  Cohen was on location during filming and in his blog,   details the changes that Carpenter brought about to turn a movie that didn’t work into a horror classic.

The Terminator Reboot – How Will It Work?

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Recently Annapurna Pictures and Skydance Productions announced that the Terminator movie franchise was going to reboot with the first of a projected trilogy to premiere in the summer of 2015.  Arnold Schwarzenegger was in talks to star.

Over at the MTV Movies Blog, Kevin P. Sullivan posted Terminator 5: Everything We Know About the New Movies.  In his piece, Sullivan posts his thoughts on the direction the new film should take.  Here are his major points and my thoughts:

Arnold has to be human.  Sullivan contends, and most would have to agree, that because Arnold ain’t a spring chicken, it would be hard to accept him as a Terminator.  My first reaction was, Sullivan is right.  But then I reconsidered.  With the right make-up and stunt doubles Arnold could realistically play a Terminator again… if that’s the direction the movie goes.

(Arnold) has to be the model for the T-800.  Sullivan asks, “If Schwarzenegger’s character is human, how do you explain his uncanny resemblance to the Terminator that hunts Sarah Connor in the first film and protects her son John in the second?”  This could be a problem except for the fact that the new Terminator films are a reboot.  As long as this is clear to the average movie-goer, then the earlier Terminator movies’ continuity are no longer a problem.

 

This deleted scene is getting reconned. Two things stop the above deleted scene from being a problem: 1) It is a deleted scene and so has no place in the any Terminator continuity and 2) the new film is the start of a reboot — past continuity doesn’t come into play.

It’s either set it in the past… …or in the future.  Well, yeah.  I like the thought of a Terminator film set in the 1940’s or 50’s.  I also like the idea of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson playing a part.  I especially liked the idea that “Schwarzenegger would play the man who stops the futuristic assassin using period-appropriate technology, thus impressing the robotic overlords and becoming the model for the T-800.”

I’ve always enjoyed the Terminator movies (and the first two remain all-time favorites) so I look forward to seeing  how this will all play out.

Thanks to Kevin P. Sullivan for the Terminator food-for-thought. – Craig

The Trick to Turn Any Soda into a Slushey

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When I was a kid I loved getting an icey.  Sometimes called slusheys, they came in many flavors.

Coke was my favorite.  Dairy Queen called these frozen concoctions Mr. Mistys, but they didn’t have a Coke Mr. Misty.

I know what you’re thinking.  You can still get a icey / slushey / Mr. Misty if you don’t mind going for a walk or drive, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could make them at home?

Funny, you should ask because… you can.

 

 

How the “Terry and the Pirates” Comic Strip Influenced “Enter the Dragon”

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In honor of the 40th anniversary of its release,  Warner Bros. released a special 2 disc edition Blu-ray of Enter the Dragon. 

CBR.com had a post that is no longer available.  Enter the Dragon’s producers Fred Weintraub and Fred Heller, cinematographer Gil Hubbs and co-star Bob Wall were interviewed.  In it, Fred Heller talked about how comic books influenced the look and feel of Enter the Dragon:

Heller: Comic books played a big part in Enter the Dragon. When we first started thinking about the look of the film, there was a comic strip called Terry and the Pirates, and that became sort of the genesis of the whole look of the film. It was about a Dragon Lady and Chinese pirates, and it was a wonderful moment in time about adventure. But it has a wonderful, brilliant color scheme of golds and blues and reds, and if you think about Enter the Dragon, that’s what we did. And that was very, very conscious. It just felt like it would be very right for the film.

Bob Carter aka Sammy Terry – R.I.P.

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I just learned that Bob Carter passed away yesterday at the age of 83.  Mr. Carter was better known to his thousands and thousands of fans as Sammy Terry.

If you grew up in the midwest (especially Indiana) in the 1960’s, odds are you couldn’t wait for each weekend to roll around and for Sammy Terry to present his unique brand of humor coupled with a monster movie or two.

From 1962 until 1989, Sammy Terry hosted Nightmare Theater [later called Shock Theater] and made personal appearances at events throughout the state.  Sammy was a big part of many kids’ childhoods, mine included.

Although I’m glad his Sammy Terry character will live on, I’m sad to report the passing of Bob Carter.

 A public memorial will be held Friday, July 5, 2013 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Singleton Mortuary, 7602 Madison Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46227.

The Evolution of Zombies in Film

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Like most of you, I’m a fan of (most) zombie movies.  Recently The Hollywood Reporter took a look at “Night of the Living Dead” to “World War Z”: The Evolution of Zombie Movies.  The title of the article is a little deceptive since the first zombie movie they look at is 1932’s White Zombie that starred Bela Lugosi (which premiered 37 years before Night of the Living Dead).

But I digress, the article shows how zombies in movies have changed over the years.  Initially zombies were people put into a trance or raised from the dead.  Slowly zombies became anyone who had lost self-control and were influenced by some outside source (black magic, aliens, etc.).

George Romero reinvigorated the zombie genre with his classic Night of the Living Dead.  Romero’s zombies were the standard for several years and then folks started to play with the zombie concept.  This led to zombies that could learn, zombies that could run, zombie comedies, and even a zombie romance.  Yeesh.

Using just the films in The Hollywood Reporter post, here are my top five and a couple of closing comments:

  • Night of the Living Dead (1968): George Romero set the bar high, reinvented the zombie movie and NOTLD remains the standard to shoot for when making a zombie movie
  • 28 Days Later (2002): While pureists would argue that 28 Days Later isn’t a zombie movie, I disagree.  Not only is it a zombie movie, it’s a great one.
  • World War Z (2013): Yeah, I agree.  World War Z the movie is not World War Z the novel.  To those who complain that the movie isn’t the book, I say, “Of course not.  It’s a movie and a very good one! If you want the book, it”s still available.
  • Dawn of the Dead (1979): Romero’s return to the genre that made him world famous.  I saw it twice in the original theatrical run.  The first time was with my wife-to-be and we walked out after the helicopter scene.  The gore was just too much for her.  I returned to a later showing without her and my appreciation of a zombie apocalypse continued. 
  • Zombieland (2009): Zombieland wasn’t the first zombie comedy, but for my money it is the best.   

Some final thoughts: I love well-done apocalyptic movies and a zombie film can easily fill the bill.  I don’t care if the zombies move fast or slow. A little gore is fine, but I’m not there to see how many ways I can be grossed out.  I don’t want zombies that learn, talk or have romantic feelings.  That’s just gross.  And, as I said, I’m not there to be grossed out.